Notes on effective writing at work, school, and home by Philip Vassallo, Ed.D.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Down Under Lingo, Part 3

Toward the conclusion of my Australian trip, I had a spirited conversation with an Australian physician in a Sydney hospital. The tenor of our chat changed quickly when the doctor learned that I was a writing consultant. After bemoaning the quality of English writing everywhere wherever he travels in the world, Dr. Burke turned his attention to the American accent. “Americans just can’t get the proper pronunciation of commonplace words,” he said irritably. “They say Bris-bane instead of Bris-bin and Austral-i-a instead of Austral-ya. I mean, they should listen to how it’s said!” From that point onward, I put on my best Aussie affectation. I even said isle for ale and ca for car. I think I impressed him with my "perfect" pronunciation!

PHIL VASSALLO

Philip Vassallo is a communication and education consultant. Phil is the author of three instructional books (HOW TO WRITE FAST UNDER PRESSURE, THE ART OF ON-THE-JOB WRITING, and THE ART OF E-MAIL WRITING), two play collections (QUESTIONS ASKED OF DYING DREAMS and A CASE-BY-CASE BASIS: FOUR SHORT PLAYS), two essay collections (PERSON TO PERSON: ESSAYS FROM TWO CENTURIES and THE INWARDNESS OF THE OUTWARD GAZE: LEARNING AND TEACHING THROUGH PHILOSOPHY), and two poetry collections (LIKE THE DAY I WAS BORN: 40 POEMS, 40 PLACES, 40 DAYS and AMERICAN HAIKU). Twenty-one of his plays are licensed through Samuel French, Heuer Publishing, and Brooklyn Publishing. He holds a doctorate in Educational Theory and Philosophy from Rutgers University and received a New Jersey State Council on the Arts grant for playwriting. Phil can be reached at Phil@PhilVassallo.com.